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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.14.711767

Interactions between inbreeding, fitness and the bacterial microbiome in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Ross, P. A.·de Jonge, N.·Yang, Q.·Paris, V.·Kristensen, T. N.·Hoffmann, A. A.
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Abstract

Laboratory and field populations of insects can experience a decline in fitness and loss of genetic diversity due to inbreeding depression and genetic drift, respectively. Matings among related individuals and small population size may also influence insect host microbiomes with consequences for fitness. In the dengue vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti, the bacterial microbiome is largely environmentally determined but recent studies have also revealed host genetic components. We generated a panel of 55 inbred lines from either of two founding outbred populations of Ae. aegypti to test for associations between life history traits, inbreeding, allelic diversity and microbiome composition using ddRADseq and bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing on pools of mosquitoes. Effects of inbreeding were diverse with severe composite fitness costs in many lines but minimal costs in others despite similar low levels of genetic diversity. We found no strong relationship between major life history traits across inbred lines, suggesting that any costs due to inbreeding were trait specific. Bacterial microbiome analysis of pooled samples from a subset of populations revealed common microbes across populations, with Elizabethkingia, Aeromonas and Ralstonia being the most abundant. Despite bacterial composition varying widely, there was no clear relationship between microbiome composition and fitness or population origin. However, there were several significant positive correlations between the relative abundance of different microbial taxa across lines. Our results demonstrate diverse impacts of inbreeding on fitness of mosquito populations but with limited impacts on the microbiome.

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Ross, P. A., de Jonge, N., Yang, Q., Paris, V., Kristensen, T. N., Hoffmann, A. A.. 2026-03-14. Interactions between inbreeding, fitness and the bacterial microbiome in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.14.711767

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